ATLUS and Sega's Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster is coming to Western shores next month, but thanks to a special behind-the-scenes peek, we're bringing you our early impressions from a sneak preview of the modernized game. We'll keep this preview review relatively spoiler-free, partly because we can only share our thoughts on the first few hours of the game, and partly because you deserve a chance to explore and experience SMT3HDR yourself, especially if it's your first time playing it.

And that's as good a place as any to mention that, yes, this is my first time playing SMT3 or any of the franchise's many, many titles. The most I've dabbled in these games to this point was watching a fair number of Persona playthroughs on Twitch. So it's fair to say that I was rather excited to finally get my hands on an SMT game for myself and see what all the fuss was about. It's also fair to say that what I did get to experience left me pleasantly surprised and wanting to play a whole lot more.

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For the newbies out there, like me, Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne originally debuted in Japan in 2003, followed by a director's cut, which then received localizations in both North America and Europe. Jump forward a decade and a half, and that's when the new HD Remaster -- not a Remake; don't expect Final Fantasy VII Remake-levels of characters and backgrounds here -- debuted in Japan, just last year. Now, on May 25th, Western audiences will be able to enjoy that version of the game, which you can pre-order now. (And you might want to consider doing so if you're sure you're going to buy the game, mainly because the Digital Deluxe version comes with the Maniax Pack -- featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series -- plus two map expansions, a background music pack, and the newly introduced Merciful difficulty; more on that in a bit.)

Image via ATLUS, Sega

While the visuals may have sharpened up for the Remaster, the game's story and style remains intact. Here's a look at a synopsis for that story should you be new to the game or need a refresher; spoilers follow below:

An apocalyptic story in a modernized version of the acclaimed ATLUS classic.

The world has been swallowed by chaos. As a demonic revolution descends into a broken Tokyo, the choices you make will determine if it stays that way.

Tokyo, 200X. A young high schooler spends his days blissfully unaware of the chaos about to befall his world. The rebirth of the world, an event which no human has ever witnessed takes place and wipes the world’s slate clean.

Chaos itself enfolds Japan's capital, and what was once a bustling center of life is now a ruined hellscape, where demons from folklore gather. Sucked into this hostile netherworld are our young protagonist and his two classmates, who are separated at different points on the compass.

While our protagonist is unconscious, two curious figures endow him with a Magatama, and hence the power to survive this harsh tribulation. Be it a blessing or a curse, he awakens to find himself reborn as a demon. And so begins his journey through a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where new enemies and old friends carve a bloody path toward their visions of an ideal world...

And that's about as far as we were allowed to progress during our time wth SMT3. But that time was a great introduction to the world and its quickly chaotic turn. In roughly three hours, you're introduced to your player character and his two high school pals Isamu Nitta and Chiaki Tachibana (whom you can rename, along with your teacher). While running all around Tokyo (in a clever overworld mapping system which uses a little pin to denote your location while still allowing interactions with people and places), you eventually make your way to a hospital to meet up with your friends and visit your teacher. It seems a rather violent clash between two organizations (are they corporate rivals? cults? something more sinister?) left quite a few people dead and many others injured; your teacher might have gotten caught up in all of that...

As mysterious as that inciting incident is, SMT3 just gets more and more mysterious as you go along. That's half the fun to playing this game, watching as new characters are introduced in unexpeted ways, only to figure out what their part to play in the whole thing is much further down the road. The other half of the fun is the combat. Boy do I miss turn-based RPG combat, and SMT did it (and continues to do it) as well as or better than most. One of my biggest turn-offs with FF7R was the shift in combat away from cozy turn-based to white-knuckle realtime fisticuffs; my old brain and fingers just don't fly as fast as they used to. Thankfully, SMT3 gives you plenty of time to figure out your next move, even in the Remaster. Here's why that's a good thing for both experienced and new players alike.

Image via ATLUS, Sega

SMT3 combat isn't just about beating up the opposing monsters, demons, or other enemies. Sure, that's a big part of it, but there's a subtler strategy beneath it. By talking to various characters, you'll learn that not only can you, your allies, and your enemies be strong against certain attacks and weak against others (determined either by your own Magatama "gear" loadout or by Analyzing enemies), but that you have the option of recruiting enemies as potential allies. That's huge. So huge, in fact, that pretty much every playable and recruitable character has an option to "Talk" to (or "Seduce" or "Beseech") enemies in order to try and ally with them. That's an aspect I don't think I've seen in any other RPG I've ever played, and it was a nice twist to the combat strategy of this game (even if it had me talking to demons who told me, in no uncertain terms, to "Fuck off!")

Recruiting allies is a vital and almost necessary mechanic for surviving the harsh world of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. Recruit early and often if you want to live a bit longer; it certainly helped me. My first run through SMT3's early offerings was also made easier by the new difficulty setting, "Merciful." Call it "Journo Mode" if you want, this easier difficulty setting decreases encounter rates and drastically reduces the damage you take in the early going, allowing for a friendlier path through the demon-infested world. That's a godsend to folks trying to meet a deadline and to those who just want to experience the story; look for more on "Merciful" in another post.

Image via ATLUS, Sega

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster stays true to its long-winded name: It's a modernized game in terms of sharpened visuals and all-new English and Japanese voice-acting, plus a refreshed English localization. For the first time, the game will also come with French, German, Italian, and Spanish subtitles. It also features the same patches that the Japanese version enjoyed upon release, so it's one step ahead in that regard. Quality-of-life additions include a "Suspend" feature, which acts as a sort of temporary auto-save, though it doesn't create a new save file each time so be careful. But just as important as all of those changes, the Remaster keeps the original game's sense of story and style intact, allowing new and returning players alike to enjoy the experience of SMT3 in an all-new way. I can't wait to get back to it and progress towards a brighter (or darker...) future.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remasters is available for pre-order now and arrives on Nintendo Switch, PS4 (which was the platform for this review), and PC: Steam on May 25th.

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